batch.motif.celtic-irish-gods-and-fighting-men-gregory-gutenberg-l4901-l5032
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-irish-gods-and-fighting-men-gregory-gutenberg-l4901-l5032
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER XII. CLIODNA'S WAVE / CHAPTER XIII. HIS CALL TO CONNLA / CHAPTER
XIV. TADG IN MANANNAN'S ISLANDS / CHAPTER XV. LAEGAIRE IN THE HAPPY PLAIN; lines
4901-5032
start: '4901'
end: '5032'
translation: Gods and Fighting Men
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Laegaire, son of the king of Connacht, meets Fiachna of the Sidhe near
the Lake of Birds. Fiachna asks for military help to recover his wife, who has
been taken and is now with Goll in Magh Mell. Laegaire and fifty fighters follow
Fiachna down into the lake, defeat Goll and his men, and return the woman to Fiachna.
Laegaire receives Fiachna's daughter Deorgreine as wife, and his men receive women
as well. After a year they return mounted to Ireland under a warning not to dismount;
the Connacht people are mourning them as lost. Laegaire refuses his father's offer
of rule and riches, says farewell, and praises the otherworldly place to which
he is returning.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A richly armed, golden-haired stranger comes through the mist toward Laegaire,
his father, and the men of Connacht near the Lake of Birds.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The stranger identifies himself as Fiachna, son of Betach, of the men of the
Sidhe, and asks for the help of fighting men.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Fiachna says his wife was taken from his pillow, brought away by Eochaid,
and later came to Goll, king of a people of Magh Mell.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Fiachna describes the Plain of the Two Mists as near at hand and as a place
where hosts of the Sidhe are fighting.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Fiachna goes down into the lake, and Laegaire follows with fifty fighting
men.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Laegaire and his fifty men fight Goll and his troop; Goll falls, and none
of the enemies escape.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The woman is kept within the dun of Magh Mell by armed guards and is brought
out after Laegaire offers to spare the guards' lives.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The woman laments Goll and says she loved him, though she must go to Fiachna.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Laegaire puts the woman's hand in Fiachna's hand.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: Fiachna's daughter Deorgreine is given to Laegaire as wife, and fifty women
are given to Laegaire's fifty fighting men.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Laegaire and his men remain in the other place for a year.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: Fiachna tells Laegaire and his men to bring horses if they go back, and not
to get off them whatever happens.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: When Laegaire and his men return to Ireland, the men of Connacht are gathered
and keening them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: Laegaire tells the Connacht people not to approach because he has come only
to bid farewell.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:15
text: Crimthan offers Laegaire rule over the three Connachts and riches if he will
remain.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:16
text: Laegaire describes the place he has gone to as having moving armies, Sidhe
music, shining cups, conversation with loved ones, and beer falling instead of
rain.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Laegaire
description: Son of Crimthan Cass, king of Connacht; leader of fifty fighting men
who goes to Magh Mell and later refuses to remain in Ireland.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Crimthan Cass
description: King of Connacht and father of Laegaire; offers Laegaire rule and wealth
to stay in Ireland.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Fiachna, son of Betach
description: A man of the Sidhe who asks Laegaire for help in recovering his wife.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Fiachna's wife / daughter of Eochaid the Dumb
description: Woman taken from Fiachna, later kept in the dun of Magh Mell, who laments
Goll after being brought out.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Goll, son of Dalbh
description: King of a people of Magh Mell; holds or is associated with Fiachna's
wife and is killed by Laegaire's force.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Eochaid, son of Sal / Eochaid the Dumb
description: The man who first took Fiachna's wife from his pillow; the woman is
called his daughter in the lament title.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Deorgreine, Tear of the Sun
description: Fiachna's daughter, given to Laegaire as wife after the recovery of
Fiachna's wife.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Laegaire's fifty fighting men
description: Fifty men who follow Laegaire into the lake, fight Goll's troop, receive
women, and return mounted with Laegaire.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Men of Connacht
description: The people present with Crimthan and Laegaire in Ireland, later gathered
and keening Laegaire and his men.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: armed helper
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:8
basis: Laegaire and his fifty men agree to help Fiachna, descend into the lake,
and fight Goll's troop.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: otherworld petitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Fiachna comes from the Sidhe and asks for fighting help to recover his wife.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: contested woman
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Fiachna says she was taken from him and is now with Goll; she is later recovered
from the dun.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: opposing king
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Goll is named king of a people of Magh Mell and faces Laegaire's force in
battle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: otherworld visitor who returns to farewell kin
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Laegaire returns to Ireland after a year but says he has come only to bid
farewell before going back.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:6
label: father offering earthly kingship
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Crimthan offers Laegaire sway over the three Connachts and wealth if he stays.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:7
label: reward giver
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Fiachna promises reward for help and later gives Deorgreine to Laegaire and
women to his men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: role:8
label: marriage reward
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Deorgreine is given to Laegaire as his wife after Laegaire restores Fiachna's
wife.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: lake as passage to Magh Mell
literal_form: Loch na-n Ean / Lake of Birds, into which Fiachna and Laegaire descend
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: mist around otherworld arrival
literal_form: mist through which Fiachna comes; the Plain of the Two Mists
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: horse taboo on return
literal_form: horses that must not be dismounted during the return to Ireland
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:4
label: otherworld abundance
literal_form: sweet Sidhe music, shining cups, and beer falling instead of rain
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:5
label: dun of Magh Mell
literal_form: fortified place where the woman is guarded by armed men
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Stranger appears by the Lake of Birds
summary: Laegaire, Crimthan, and the men of Connacht see an armed golden-haired
man come through the mist near the lake, and Laegaire welcomes him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Fiachna requests help
summary: Fiachna identifies himself as one of the Sidhe, explains that his wife
has been taken, and asks for fighting men to help him in battle.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Descent through the lake and battle with Goll
summary: Fiachna enters the lake, Laegaire and fifty men follow, and they fight
Goll's troop, killing Goll and the enemy force.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Recovery and lament of the woman
summary: Laegaire has the guarded woman brought out from the dun of Magh Mell; she
laments Goll and says she must go to Fiachna.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Marriage rewards and year-long stay
summary: Laegaire returns the woman to Fiachna; Deorgreine is given to Laegaire
as wife, fifty women are given to his men, and they remain for a year.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Mounted return to Ireland and farewell
summary: Fiachna warns Laegaire's party not to dismount during their return; in
Ireland the Connacht people are mourning them, but Laegaire refuses to stay and
praises the otherworldly place.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: journey to Magh Mell through water
taxonomy_refs:
- afterlife_journey_map
basis: Laegaire and his men enter the lake after Fiachna and arrive at a strong
place connected with Magh Mell; after a year they return to Ireland and are mourned
as if gone from ordinary life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage calls Magh Mell the Happy Plain and associates it with the
Sidhe, but it does not explicitly define it as an afterlife realm in this excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: descent to aid an otherworld claimant
taxonomy_refs:
- hero_descent
basis: Laegaire follows Fiachna down into the lake with fifty fighters and defeats
Goll's force.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The descent is literal into a lake; the passage does not frame it as an
underworld descent.
- id: motif:3
label: stolen or contested beloved recovered by battle
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: Fiachna says his wife was taken from his pillow and later held in connection
with Goll; Laegaire defeats Goll and brings the woman back to Fiachna.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The woman's own lament states that she loved Goll, making the recovery
socially and emotionally contested rather than simple rescue.
- id: motif:4
label: marriage reward for martial aid
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Fiachna promises rewards for help and afterward gives his daughter Deorgreine
to Laegaire as wife and fifty women to Laegaire's men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The exchange is explicit, but the passage does not call it sacred.
- id: motif:5
label: return with prohibition not to dismount
taxonomy_refs:
- return
basis: Before Laegaire's party returns to Ireland, Fiachna commands them not to
get off their horses whatever happens.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The consequences of violating the prohibition are not shown in the provided
excerpt.
- id: motif:6
label: refusal of earthly kingship for the Happy Plain
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: Laegaire refuses his father's offer of rule, wealth, horses, and women in
Connacht and says he has come only to bid farewell before returning to the other
place.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The final departure itself is implied by the farewell and praise, but
not fully narrated in the excerpt.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4901-4916
quote_or_summary: Near Loch na-n Ean, Laegaire, Crimthan, and the men of Connacht
see a golden-haired armed man coming through the mist; Laegaire welcomes the unknown
champion.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 4917-4932
quote_or_summary: The stranger identifies himself as Fiachna, son of Betach, of
the Sidhe, says his wife was taken, describes his conflicts with Eochaid and Goll,
and asks for fighting help with promised rewards.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 4933-4961
quote_or_summary: Fiachna's speech describes the Plain of the Two Mists as beautiful,
near at hand, and filled with courageous Sidhe hosts in battle, with noble appearance,
weapons, song-making, and chess-playing.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: lines 4962-4966
quote_or_summary: '"Fiachna, son of Betach, went down into the lake then, for it
was out of it he had come, and Laegaire went down into it after him, and fifty
fighting men along with him."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 4967-4974
quote_or_summary: Laegaire and his fifty men confront Goll's troop; the two fifties
fight, Goll falls, and Laegaire's side survives while the enemies are killed.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 4975-4990
quote_or_summary: Fiachna says the woman is in the dun of Magh Mell under guard;
Laegaire has her brought out, and she laments Goll, saying she loved him but must
go to Fiachna.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 4991-4998
quote_or_summary: Laegaire places the woman's hand in Fiachna's hand; Fiachna's
daughter Deorgreine is given to Laegaire as wife, fifty women are given to his
men, and they remain there for a year.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: quote
locator: lines 4999-5002
quote_or_summary: '"If you have a mind to go," said Fiachna, "bring horses with
you; but whatever happens," he said, "do not get off from them."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 5003-5014
quote_or_summary: On returning to Ireland, Laegaire and his men find the men of
Connacht keening them; Laegaire says he has come to bid farewell, while Crimthan
offers him Connacht's rule and riches if he stays.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 5015-5032
quote_or_summary: Laegaire praises the place he has gone to, mentioning armies,
Sidhe music, shining cups, beloved companions, beer falling instead of rain, and
objects and a lament brought from the Pleasant Plain.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage clearly supports the main figures, actions, and symbols. Motif
labels use only the provided taxonomy where appropriate; some labels are interpretive
and therefore marked with cautions. No comparison claims are made because the
passage itself does not explicitly compare traditions or motifs.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Used only the provided passage text and metadata. Empty comparison_claims reflects absence of passage-internal comparative claims.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-irish-gods-and-fighting-men-gregory-gutenberg__l4901-l5032
passage_sha256=ded4a9f7752a7d8fdb7ecd78d9d982bfdb7b300e20a470c6a2b62c6615489592